Power Still Being Restored Throughout Orange County

***UPDATE: Duke Energy is reporting that less than 100 Orange County residents are without power as of Thursday afternoon. Power is not estimated to be completely restored until close to midnight.***

Severe weather ripped through our community on Wednesday evening.

Nearly 500 Orange County customers are still without power as of Thursday morning, according to the Duke Energy outage map and power is not expected to be restored until seven o’clock Thursday night. At the peak of the outages more than 2,000 Orange County residents were without power late Wednesday night.

A tree nearly hit this house west of MLK and Umstead. Photo via Mark Schoeman.

The timing of the storm caused problems as students were forced to remain in local schools because conditions were too hazardous for school systems to allow students to board buses and leave the campuses. The severe weather approached and tornado warning went into effect during the three o’clock hour Wednesday afternoon and did not let up until nearly five o’clock.

Trees were down across the community causing traffic delays, and Orange County crews were working in conjunction with the municipalities to clear debris from various roadways.

The National Weather Service did report a funnel cloud being seen as the storm passed over Orange County. The weather service then reported a tornado touched down from the same system as it proceeded to the north and east of Orange County.

Large hail was reported throughout the county as well.

An e-mail from Orange County deputy manager Travis Myren to the Board of County Commissioners said that there were no injuries reported due to the storm and that one home in Chapel Hill sustained “major damage.” The e-mail said the Red Cross was assisting in that case.

Tree down just north of the UNC campus. Photo via TwigLiving Twitter account.

With all of the severe weather, Orange County Emergency Management Coordinator told WCHL Wednesday evening that officials had only received sporadic calls reporting damage.

Officials want to remind residents that if you see a downed power line or another electrical danger, please call 911. Residents are also encouraged to handle any chainsaws or other equipment safety when cleaning up any fallen trees or other debris.

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